


Chapter Eleven

by TheTacticianAlchemist



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Marriage Proposal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-10
Updated: 2015-12-10
Packaged: 2018-05-05 21:43:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5391446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheTacticianAlchemist/pseuds/TheTacticianAlchemist
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Robin’s face heats up, and the embarrassment is driven in even further when Chrom chokes out, “R-Robin, can’t breathe…!”</p><p>[For Chrobin Week: S-Support.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	Chapter Eleven

**Author's Note:**

> I cheated and used a chrobinprompt for this, and in the first place I cheated on that and used a bunch of in-game dialogue.
> 
> Eh, I'll have a better prompt for tomorrow.

The world is crumbling around them.

“Chrom…”

They're in the throne room of the Feroxi capital, surrounded by their friends and allies, but the only one Robin sees is the man she’s failed.

Chrom stands still and silent. His arms hang at his sides. He stares at nothing.

She wishes he would cry, like Lissa. Or scream and rage like he did on the battlefield. But now, Chrom is lost, directionless.

Robin comes closer to him. “I’m… I’m so sorry, Chrom. My plan wasn’t enough.”

His gaze flickers to hers. His voice comes out far too quiet. Like he’s put himself on some sort of autopilot to speak to her. “You did your best, Robin. You…have my thanks.” He looks away, but only with his eyes. “It’s my own failures that haunt me now.”

Robin opens her mouth, but then Chrom’s fists clench and he spits out, “Gods, I was so _powerless_!”

“It’s not your fault either.” She forces herself to put that final word in. Because she wants to blame herself, but she knows he won’t let her. “Chrom…”

His expression twists, his brow furrowing and his mouth opening and frowning at the same time. “She did it for me, Robin. So that I wouldn’t have to live with the guilt of either choice. She chose for me. She sacrificed herself rather than give up the Fire Emblem, that could one day save her people….”

_This is not your fault._

Robin doesn’t remember hearing the words from him, but they echo in her head and resolve settles in her stomach.

“Chrom, listen to me.” She puts her hand on his shoulder. “Look at me.”

He looks at her, and some other emotion has appeared in his eyes. Like he’s really listening to her this time.

“I was powerless once too, remember?” she says quietly, but her voice is strong. “And yes, alone, neither one of us half the person your sister was. But together…maybe we can be something more.”

Chrom frowns slightly, confused.

She gently squeezes his shoulder. “If you fall, I’ll be there to pull you back up. When you fight for your sister’s ideals, I’ll be by your side. But you don’t have to become your sister, you know. You can still be true to yourself. You just have to give people hope in whatever way _you_ can.”

And then, Chrom starts to break again.

Tears spill out onto his cheeks. He tries to speak, but his voice is rough and he has to cough. “And - and what if I can’t? What if I’m not worthy of her ideals? Robin…” He suddenly grips her free hand like he’s drowning and she’s the only one who can keep him afloat. “What if I drag you down with me?”

Robin smiles, but she’s crying too. “If you aren’t worthy, you’ll keep at it until you are. And if we both fall down, well…that’s what friends are for, isn’t it?”

And all at once, the Shepherds start converging on Chrom. Each one reaches out to pat his arm, or his hair, and they all start saying words of praise and support, and Chrom’s mouth drops open. He wipes at his eyes and when someone laughs, a small smile makes its way onto his lips.

Robin thinks she’ll always feel guilty, like Emm’s death will weigh heavy on her, trying to bury her alive, but that small smile on Chrom’s lips makes it seem like everything to come is worth it.

“Th-thank you, everyone,” Chrom says, his voice becoming stronger. “Your words mean more to me than you could know.”

He pulls away from Robin just a little, to face everyone. Her hand falls from his shoulder, but the other is still encased by his fingers.

“My Shepherds…my warriors! There is still work to be done. Gangrel must be stopped so that peace may once again reign in Ylisse. Will you help me?”

The Shepherds once again all speak, but this time they shout and yell and stomp their feet and rattle their armor.

Robin stays silent, but squeezes Chrom’s fingers.

Chrom smiles, bigger this time.

“Thank you all, truly,” he says once the commotion has died down. “You honor me with your fealty. And I will not falter again! We shall answer this outrage! The Mad King must be stopped!”

More cries ring out and the Feroxi khans come close and swear their fealty. In the commotion, Chrom’s hand detaches from Robin’s, and he looks back at her. Her face heats up, but she smiles at him and he smiles back serenely, even though his cheeks are still wet, and he nods to show his thanks.

And just in that moment, Robin realizes that she loves him.

Chrom turns back to Basilio, because Basilio has called him “Commander” and not “boy,” and Robin watches for a moment.

She doesn’t want to distract him. She realizes she sounds like a hypocrite, but she’s afraid of dragging him too far down. She doesn’t want to fail him again.

So she resolves not to do any of those things.

“Chrom.” She comes forward and puts a hand on his shoulder again. “We need to start strategizing at once.”

“Of course,” he says, his voice strong and determined once more. “Let’s go right away to the map room.”

And so they hurry off, leaving the Shepherds and the Feroxi in their wake, all of them still jabbering and cheering about how the Mad King will soon fall.

Basilio laughs as the prince and the tactician disappear, and he gains the gazes of many. “Twenty gold coins that that girl is going to make him some wife."

()()()

“Chrom!”

Robin rushes to him, cursing herself for the tactical error that caused her to be separated from him - even if it had been for just a few minutes before the war’s and Gangrel’s end.

“Robin - ?” the prince starts, but she can’t help herself, and she latches onto him, circling her arms around his torso and pushing herself against his chest to ensure the fact that yes, he is real, and yes, he has avenged his sister, and yes, he is alive.

“Hoo,” Flavia exclaims. “Give these two some room!”

Robin’s face heats up, and the embarrassment is driven in even further when Chrom chokes out, “R-Robin, can’t breathe…!”

She pulls away and doesn’t dare look at the others. But she looks at him, because for her whole remembered life she hasn’t been able to look anywhere else. “I’m… I’m glad you’re all right, Chrom.”

“Well, Chrom?” Lissa says, her voice lilting. “Say something!”

But Chrom only stares back at Robin, his eyes lighting up with realization.

Lissa giggles behind her hand, then motions to Flavia and Basilio. “Perhaps we should leave them alone.”

“Carry on, lovebirds,” Flavia says, and Basilio laughs his booming laugh as they follow Lissa out of the immediate area.

And then it's just the prince and his tactician.

Chrom comes closer to her. “Robin…”

She blushes. “W-what’s wrong, Chrom? You look so serious….”

“I think…” He gently puts his hands on her arms. “I think I owe you an apology. This war was not yours to fight.”

She smiles. “But I chose to fight it, Chrom.”

He grimaces, and his fingers tighten around her a little. “All I’ve been thinking about is stopping Gangrel, no matter the cost. Even my own life would not have been too high a price to pay.”

“It would have been for us!” Robin says at once. She hesitates, feeling the warmth he radiates. He’s sweaty and bloody, covered with nicks and scratches, but she is, too. “…And for me.”

She never tried to deny it to herself, but she can’t hold it back any longer.

Chrom stares at her, his expression so serious that she wonders if he’s trying to look into her soul. “I’ve been thinking a lot lately, about everything. And about you, Robin. In many ways, you’re the best fighter I’ve ever known…and the best friend.”

“Friend…,” she repeats, and the word makes her want to soar and plummet at the same time.

“More than that,” he amends, and slowly his warm hands move to cup her jawline. “You are a special woman to me… And I - I wonder if you think of me as more than your leader? I… would like to think you do.”

Robin’s fingers touch his, like she can’t believe it’s true. “Chrom… I think of you as a great man, and dear to my heart. I…”

Chrom pulls her closer, embracing her, and his fingers knot into her hair. After a moment she puts her arms around him and breathes in deeply, even though he smells so much like war.

“I never want to let you go, Robin,” he whispers. “Does that make me selfish?”

“If so,” she says, smiling, dizzy, deliriously happy, “then let me be selfish too. I would be with you, always. I love you.”

“And I love you, Robin.”

And he pulls away just enough to press his lips against hers.

When they part their mouths for air, he rests his forehead against hers and strokes her cheek with his thumb. It feels so warm, so soothing and strong and real, but almost like a dream.

“Robin?”

“Yes, Chrom?”

“We met under unusual circumstances, but lives have been made from far less. My sister always followed her heart, so now I’m going to follow mine.” He takes her hand, and his cheeks become flushed. “What I want to ask you… Well, what I mean is… Will you marry me?”

She smiles, big and wide. “Yes.” She kisses him for the second time. “Yes.”

Chrom starts laughing, and he hugs her tight. “With a word you’ve made me the happiest man in all the realm! Here…”

He pulls away from her, just enough to pull a ring off his hand. It bears the crest of House Ylisse. “Will you wear this?”

“Of course, of course.” She takes the ring and slides it onto her finger, but it’s too big. Still, she clasps her hand around it to keep it there. “It’ll have to be sized, but of course, of course.”

“Gods, Robin.” He pulls her close again, cradling her face, and kisses her. “I love you so much. But for now… I’ll need to ask for a bit of patience for the near future. My first duty must be to heal the scars of war and assume my role for the people. But then, you and I…”

She kisses him again. “That’s all right,” she says against his lips, grinning. “I’m a tactician, remember? I’ll figure something out to help you.”

“Thank you…” He kisses her nose. “You’ve loved me for a while, haven’t you? And I’ve been too dense….”

She laughs. “That’s all right.” She strokes his face. “I wanted… I want… to help you however I can. No matter what. And that would’ve been enough for me.”

“But not what you deserve.”

“Well, that’s up to opinions…. But I’m so grateful that you found me. That fate brought us together. I am a lucky woman to have met you, and luckier still now.”

“I know together…” He pecks her lips. “…we can bring joy back to the palace. I’ll do everything I can to make the castle a happy home for us…my love.”

She grins. “My love.”

And the world no longer crumbles around them; it builds up.


End file.
